Indiana Basketball: Most underrated of all time? The case for Isiah Thomas
Thomas was historically good
After appearing as the villain on Sunday’s episode of ESPN’s “The Last Dance,” Isiah Thomas was on my mind. He’s undoubtedly the greatest Indiana Hoosier of all time. Plenty Hoosiers could make an argument that they matched his greatness in college, Thomas set himself apart from his fellow alumni by crafting an all-time great NBA career.
His Basketball Reference page jumps out at you: 12 seasons, 11 All-Star appearances, 2 All-Star MVPs, First Team All-NBA three times, fifth in MVP voting in 1984-85, back-to-back championships, finals MVP. Very few can say they’ve achieved the same things.
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But what the stats don’t tell you is the way he played. Isiah Thomas was an electrifying player. He had an elite handle and athleticism which he paired with fantastic vision and scoring ability. He could shoot jump shots on the move, do fancy layups, make the highlight no-look pass. All that fun stuff.
It’s easy to understand why some stars don’t get remembered like others. Tim Duncan is a top-10 basketball player of all time, but his fundamental play style, while incredibly effective and fun to watch for total basketball geeks like myself, is boring. It just is. And for a generation that is used to on-demand highlights, guys like John Stockton, Karl Malone, Kevin McHale, and Bill Russell have faded out of many people’s memories. Young kids may not even know who they are.
At the same time, young people venerate players like Jason “White Chocolate” Williams, Kyrie Irving, and Vince Carter, who – although talented and (in the case of Irving and Carter) maybe even elite in terms of talent- can’t even lay a finger to Isiah Thomas’ legacy.